| Author | Message | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 245 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hey Mica, Any news on the pickup front? thanks | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8219 Registered: 6-2000 |
Yeah - the company that we bought the mold kits from for thirty years is deciding to be jerky jerks. After they told us they shipped (which I what I told you recently), then we get a "quote" faxed to us today stating their minimum is like 10 times what we would use before it goes bad and nothing had shipped. Oh, I was so mad. Never fear! I found an a new source (manned by a dude that really knows his silicone!), and they will ship it to me Monday, and we will have it on Wednesday. Then a day to make the mold from the master and then the pickup can be born on Friday next. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 246 Registered: 12-2004 |
Grrrr!! I hate it when people do that! Thanks for finding a solution so quickly. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 247 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Mica, Did you get a package from the new source by any chance? Thanks | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8222 Registered: 6-2000 |
We did - and the mold came out great! Also got a test pickup cast today:  Don't worry about the globular part on the left side - this is a successful test. Tony clear up some logistics with this type of casting with Ron today, so I should have 2 shiny new pickups tomorrow for Kris to index the pickup ring off of. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3554 Registered: 5-2009 |
Very Kool ! Trapezoidal pickups like my old Alembic / Starfire . Glad to see it . | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1812 Registered: 5-2002 |
That is a thing of beauty! Good work! | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1758 Registered: 10-2006 |
Will the magnets be trapezoidal? Peter | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 248 Registered: 12-2004 |
That is fantastic Mica! Thank you so much for this lovely update. The pickup looks beautiful. Peter, as of now the magnets will be standard shape. Maybe in the future they will be trapezoid shaped. It will be an ongoing experiment :-) | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 249 Registered: 12-2004 |
.... double post ... (Message edited by Moonliner on August 10, 2014) | ||
| serialnumber12
Senior Member Username: serialnumber12 Post Number: 1082 Registered: 12-2004 |
trap this Zoid | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3555 Registered: 5-2009 |
Here is my old bass http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/2792.html?1262960781 | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3556 Registered: 5-2009 |
I love the Zoids ! If I get a custom built I might want some like my old ones again and go back to my youth _____  (Message edited by sonicus on August 10, 2014) | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1814 Registered: 5-2002 |
So these will be the opposite my pickups. They are rectangular shells with trapezoid magnets! It was kind of a surprise when my local luthier put one of those magnetic viewing strips on it. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 250 Registered: 12-2004 |
Mr 12, I have long admired your bass. It's really a stunning instrument. .... And Sonicus, I've been looking at pictures of your old bass for years. The stuff dreams are made of! Edwin! I love all the work you did on your Starfire. Very inspiring! Are the magnets positioned like the others with the wide side on the top? Mica and I noticed on the early stages of Phil's bass he had the wider side on the G string side and were thinking of putting my pickups in that position. Thanks for sharing all the amazing pictures of your basses. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3558 Registered: 5-2009 |
Keith , Thanks , that is meaningful for me . Edwin , I must comment __ that you did a fine job when you did the work on that instrument . | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1815 Registered: 5-2002 |
Well, I can take credit for only so much of it. Matt Bergdahl of Woodsong's Lutherie installed the pickup rings (and took forever making them, cursing me good naturedly the whole time for the amount of effort it took to match the curvature of the top of the bass. The bill for that was higher than the cost of the pickups. If I had it to over again, I'd probably go the swimming pool route (sorry for the pun) and install the humcanceller on the front as well.) He also installed the hardware for me. Interestingly, although he was familiar with Alembic and grew up in the Bay Area, he was completely unfamiliar with the Grateful Dead. I loaned him a few CDs and a month later he was relating minutiae from the different eras of recordings over at Archive.org. However, I did do all the drilling and installation of the electronics as well as the assembly of the electronics, which were pretty much a random, not quite complete, bag of parts when I got them. It was a fun project, after I got the filter cap values right. Initially they were off by a couple orders of magnitude, which meant I was almost in the megahertz range, but that problem was easily rectified. I'm considering adding a master volume to the horn next to the pickup selector switch. The pickups are with the wide section over the E string. I flipped the neck pickup around (the bridge pickup is not quite symmetrical as far as the mounting bars go, so it wouldn't fit in the ring in the other orientation) and noticed less of a difference than I would have expected. I switched it back. I would think that I'd want the wide side under the G string to make it more equal the E string because of the difference in string excursion, but it really doesn't seem to make much of a difference at all. I'm sure that Old #12 is similar: not a bad note on the instrument. I'm going to have to put hearing that bass in person in my bucket list. Be prepared for a visit sometime! Of course, I feel like I'm waiting, biding my time, for the perfect Alembic to show up. It's possible that Jazzyvee might be playing it right now. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 251 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Mica! How's the pickup and pickup ring situation? I have so many questions.... :-) Fingerboard? Ebony headstock laminate? That beautiful tailpiece you suggested, has that been made yet? Have you read Galadrielle Allman's book about her father yet? It's really a beautiful read. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 8234 Registered: 6-2000 |
 The fixture and test cut success for the pickup ring. Next stop, Bird's-eye Maple  And now with Ebony facing veneer (still needs carving in this pick, but it's very black. In fact, it's a bookmatched front veneer. To get the blackest possible, it need to be narrow. So you'll have to look *very* closely to see it, but it's a bookmatch. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 252 Registered: 12-2004 |
That is so great! Bless you! I know I was being silly, but Galadrielle's book is really a great read..... If you're into the Allman Brothers. Thanks again. I so appreciate the pictures. | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 253 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Mica, Dare I ask if there is any exciting news this week? | ||
| wisconsindead
New Username: wisconsindead Post Number: 1 Registered: 8-2014 |
This is a fun thread to follow. Moonliner, could you list all of the changes you are making to the bass? | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 255 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hey WDead! Let's see.... New headstock (as you can see). Ebony fingerboard with red side LED's. Bridge with brass sustain block. Control cover and pickup ring. Trapezoid pickups, and anniversary electronics. I think that's it for now, but I have other long term plans. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3592 Registered: 5-2009 |
This looks like it is coming along great ! Will you power the electronics with just battery power or will there be an adaptation to utilize the Alembic 5 PIN system? | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3593 Registered: 5-2009 |
It is interesting how the " picture gremlin: ran off with #12's ,mine & Edwin's pictures in this thread ! > | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 256 Registered: 12-2004 |
Yeah, I noticed all the cool pictures disappeared. Odd. It'll be powered by the little blue box. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3594 Registered: 5-2009 |
Blue box power is a good idea ! | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 257 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hello Mica, Any progress to report this week? | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 258 Registered: 12-2004 |
Maybe this week? | ||
| moonliner
Advanced Member Username: moonliner Post Number: 259 Registered: 12-2004 |
A little update courtesy of Mica. The hole has been cut in the front of the bass, the control cover has been roughly fitted, the pickup ring has been made, and the ebony fingerboard is on. I'm really excited to see all this progress!    |
